I´m not David Beckham! – Depay reacts to Lyon wondergoal

Memphis Depay believes he scored the best goal of his career against Toulouse on Sunday but has rubbished comparisons to David Beckham.

The Netherlands international turned into space inside the centre circle before firing a spectacular strike over goalkeeper Alban Lafont to secure Lyon’s 4-0 Ligue 1 victory.

The goal – Depay’s second of the match – drew widespread praise from football fans across the globe and prompted team-mate Maxwel Cornet to compare it to Beckham’s famous halfway-line effort for Manchester United against Wimbledon in 1996.

But while Depay believes it to be the finest goal he has ever scored, he dismissed the comparison to one of his predecessors as United’s number seven.

“I’m not David Beckham,” he told Canal+. “I don’t compare myself to such a legend.

“I think it’s great for me to score a goal like this. I tried the same thing a few years ago when I played for PSV and I hit the bar. This time, I got lucky.

“I realised in the first half that the keeper was off his line all the time. We put on pressure, I looked at him, and as soon as we won the ball I knew where he was, so all I had to do was turn and just do it – don’t think, just shoot.

“I didn’t even see the ball go in, I just saw the stadium going crazy.

“I think I’ve scored the best goal of my life. Aside from that, I’m very happy because the team has taken an important victory.

“I think I’m making progress every day in training. I know the team and my team-mates better and better. I have a lot of hope for the future.”

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas compared Depay’s effort to a missed attempt by Brazil great Pele against Czechoslovakia in the 1970 World Cup.

“Once more, through his performance, Memphis treated us,” Aulas said. “He did something that Pele tried – I don’t remember what year he did it in.

“This is a sign of a very high class. He’s the kind of player who can make the fans come to the stadium.

“We’re lucky to have exceptional homegrown players and now foreign players of an international level.”

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